The present invention relates generally to a driveline support assembly and, more particularly, to a driveline support assembly utilizing an electric motor wherein the driveline support and the electric motor utilize only a single package bearing.
A variety of driveline support assemblies are known in the art that utilize electric motors to power a driveline when accelerating or maintaining driveline motion or to generate electricity from the driveline""s kinetic energy when decelerating. In the past, these systems have used separate bearings for the electric motor and the driveline support. However, using separate bearings only adds the cost and weight of the assembly and causes the assembly to be less compact. The present invention solves this problem by reducing the number of bearings required in order to make the driveline support assembly lighter, more compact and less expensive to manufacture.
The present invention provides an assembly comprising an electric motor within an electric motor case and a driveline support. The electric motor comprises a stator and a rotor. The rotor is connected to a rotor shaft. The driveline support comprises a hub rotatably attached to a housing by a package bearing. The electric motor case is attached to the housing and supports the stator. The rotor shaft is attached to the hub and supported solely by the package bearing of the driveline support. A shoulder portion of the rotor shaft abuts an end of the hub such that a desired air gap is maintained between the rotor and the stator.